Queer ducks (and other animals) :

Title :

Queer ducks (and other animals) : the natural world of animal sexuality / Eliot Schrefer ; illustrations by Jules Zuckerberg.

Title:

Queer ducks (and other animals) :

Author:

Schrefer, Eliot, 1978-

Format:

Books

Physical Description:

225 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

ISBN:

9780063069497

Production / Publication Information:

New York, NY : Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2022]

Summary:

"A research-based exploration of queer behavior in different animal species is interspersed with personal anecdotes and interviews with scientists"--

Bibliography note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 191-225) and index.

Target audience note:

Ages 14 up

Language:

English

Added Author:

Zuckerberg, Jules

Subject Term:

Homosexuality in animals -- Juvenile literature.

Sexual behavior in animals -- Juvenile literature.

Homosexuality in animals.

Sexual behavior in animals.

Animals -- Habits and behavior.

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Material Type	Library	Call Number	Item Barcode	Location
Book	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library	591.562 SCH / TEEN	31330009206875	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Amesbury Public Library	YA 591.56 SCH	32114002772417	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Burlington Public Library	YA 591.56 SCH	32116003901291	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Carlisle - Gleason Public Library	TEEN 591.562 SCH	32117002137275	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Dracut - Moses Greeley Parker Memorial Library	YA/591.562/SCH	31482003093773	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Georgetown Peabody Library	YA 591.56 SCHREFER	32120001428257	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Hamilton-Wenham Public Library	Y 591.56 SCH	30470001973287	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Haverhill Public Library	YA/591.562/SCHREFER E	31479007548034	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Ipswich Public Library	YA 591.562 SCHREFER	32122002947236	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Littleton - Reuben Hoar Library	YA 591.56 SCH	39965002389392	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Lowell - Pollard Memorial Library	YA 591.56 SCH	31481005679225	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Methuen - Nevins Memorial Library	YA 591.56 SCH	31548003486884	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Newbury Town Library	YA 591.56 SCH	32127001318164	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... North Reading - Flint Memorial Library	YA 591.56 SCH	31550002522545	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Rockport Public Library	YA 591.562 SCHREFER	32129002519873	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tewksbury Public Library	TEEN ANIMALS / SCH	32132003373456	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tyngsborough Public Library	YA/591.56/SCHRE	32137002175364	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... West Newbury - G.A.R. Memorial Library	YA 591.562 SCH	32135001573761	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Westford - J.V. Fletcher Library	YA 591.562 SCH	31990005115873	Searching... Unknown

NPR's "All Things Considered," calls Queer Ducks "teenager-friendly. It's a Printz Honor young adult book filled with comics and humor and accessible science, and it's filled with research on the diversity of sexual behavior in the animal world."

This groundbreaking illustrated YA nonfiction title from two-time National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author Eliot Schrefer is a well-researched and teen-friendly exploration of the gamut of queer behaviors observed in animals.

A quiet revolution has been underway in recent years, with study after study revealing substantial same-sex sexual behavior in animals. Join celebrated author Eliot Schrefer on an exploration of queer behavior in the animal world--from albatrosses to bonobos to clownfish to doodlebugs.

In sharp and witty prose--aided by humorous comics from artist Jules Zuckerberg--Schrefer uses science, history, anthropology, and sociology to illustrate the diversity of sexual behavior in the animal world. Interviews with researchers in the field offer additional insights for readers and aspiring scientists.

Queer behavior in animals is as diverse and complex--and as natural--as it is in our own species. It doesn't set us apart from animals--it bonds us even closer to our animal selves.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Employing conversational humor and personal anecdotes, interviews with a variety of scientists, and detailed information about the intersections of human bias and animal research, Schrefer deconstructs commonly held beliefs to reveal the world of queer animal behavior. Beginning with questions such as "Are there trans animals?" and "Does sexuality require sex?," chapters consider gender, sex, and sexuality through the lens of creatures that include albatrosses, bottlenose dolphins, and doodlebugs. Occasional grayscale comics by Zuckerberg position animals in a human safe space--a Gay Straight Alliance meeting--in which they engage in accepting and affirming species-specific discussions. Together, the creators deliver punch lines while revealing little-known animal facts about avian asexuality and polyamory, bisexual bonobos, and intersex deer, all supporting the argument that exclusionary takes on the natural world are a breakable human habit--and that, as science shows, queer behavior has never been "unnatural." Substantial back matter includes suggestions for further reading, a glossary, and an index. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 14--up. (May)

Kirkus Review

An entertaining, informative tour through the sexual diversity of animal life. From bonobos to fruit flies, wrasse fish to bottlenose dolphins, Schrefer, who is part of New York University's animal studies master's program, explores nonhuman animals' lives in the contexts of sex and gender. Do nonhuman animals have sex purely for pleasure? Are they ever polyamorous? Are there trans animals? Intersex ones? Intercut with delightful comics, memoirlike vignettes, queer theory, and interviews with experts including a primatologist, evolutionary biologist, science historian, and wildlife ecologist (to name a few), Schrefer takes seriously the desires and pleasures of animals' lives, revealing how gender and sexuality are experienced as social and not just biological constructs. The book is motivated by compassion, as Schrefer explains: "I think care for animals leads to greater care for humans, too, since we all share the natural world, and the same systems of power that endanger animals also endanger humans." This regard extends to young people, as Schrefer writes a love letter to his 11-year-old self, who needed to know that queer people are indeed a part of nature. While the book uses a human identity-based framework to understand animals whose consciousnesses we can't possibly understand, it will help queer kids feel less alone as it highlights the filtered lens through which the animal kingdom has for too long been presented. A thoughtful, thought-provoking, and incredibly fun study of queerness across the animal kingdom. (glossary, notes, selected bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

This book (prolific author Schrefer's first foray into nonfiction) is about same-gender sexual activity in animals. He cites multiple examples within the animal kingdom, from fruit flies to penguins to albatross to bulls. These interactions (sometimes spontaneous hookups, sometimes lifelong relationships) have been known to Western science since the 1800s, but, due to prevailing social norms, they were identified as deviant behaviors (after all, Noah stuck to heterogeneous couples on the ark). Schrefer lampoons antiquated practices of assigning terms like queer or homosexual to animal behavior, and derides the notion that same-sex activity should ever be labeled as "unnatural" in humans or other animals. There are plenty of witty observations, accessible science, and interviews with experts such as a primatologist, an evolutionary biologist, and a conservation ecologist. There are extensive chapter notes, a glossary, a bibliography, and additional reading suggestions. Schrefer also offers candid anecdotes about growing up gay, and an early interlude titled "What Queer Means" gives straightforward definitions of LGBTQ+ individuals. This is a groundbreaking publication that documents new insights into animal behavior, including research previously repressed or ignored. It also reassures readers that same-sex attraction, interaction, and sexual intercourse is completely natural, both in the animal and human realms.

Introduction The Immorality of Penguins [Interlude: Who I Am]	p. 1
Chapter 1 Doodlebugs	p. 13
It takes a lot of backbone to come out. Or does it? [Interlude: What Queer Means]
Chapter 2 Bonobos	p. 29
Do we learn homosexuality or heterosexuality-or just unlearn bisexuality? [Q&A: Christine Webb, Primatologist]
Chapter 3 Fruit Flies	p. 45
Is there a genetic basis for same-sex attraction? [Q&A: Sidney Woodruff, PhD Researcher]
Chapter 4 Bottlenose Dolphins	p. 63
Are dolphins just gay sharks? (Or: Is there true homosexuality in animals?)
Chapter 5 Japanese Macaques	p. 75
Where are all my ladies at? [Q&A: Mounica Kota, Evolutionary Biologist]
Chapter 6 Deer	p. 91
Are there trans animals? [Q&A: Beans Velocci, Science Historian]
Chapter 7 Wrasse Fish	p. 104
Do animals change sex? [Q&A: Max Lambert, Conservation Biologist]
Chapter 8 Albatross	p. 118
Does sexuality require sex?
Chapter 9 Bulls	p. 131
What could be manlier than sex between a couple of males? [Q&A: Logan Weyand, Wildlife Researcher]
Chapter 10 Ducks and Geese	p. 145
What's the animal stance on polyamory? [Q&A: Dylan Sanborn, Wildlife Technician / Avian Biologist]
Contusion	p. 164
Has anyone asked those penguins their take on all this?
Appendix	p. 177
Six key sources for additional reading and viewing
Acknowledgments	p. 181
Glossary	p. 183
Notes	p. 191
Selected Bibliography	p. 213
Index	p. 227

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Summary

Summary

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

Booklist Review

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